Denture retaining means



Sept. 9, 1952 J. P. DILLON ,6

DENTURE RETAINING MEANS Filed Feb. '7, 1948 GWM ATTORNEYJ' Patented Sept. 9, 1952 "LI-"UNITED STATES M e]?omes;

DENTURE RETAINING MEANS w James Patrick Dillon, New York; N.Y.

My present invention more particularly to a novel support for a removable bridge or denture wherein simplified means is, provided for retaining the denture in place.

I-Ieretofore, various means have to supportdentures in position. Many of these required securing elements which directly engaged live teethvon oppositesides of -the gap to be bridged. l v Such securing elements are often constructed to engage the live teeth at or near the gum and, therefore, at or near the area where the enamel is' wea'kest. Thisfrequentlyleads to abrasion of the enamel, exposure of the underlying'section of vthe vital tooth and general discomfort.

Various attempts have been made. to provide securing elements for the bridge or other .removable denture wherein the securing elements were fixed by various means into or to the vital teeth amount of work inthe mouth of the patient and resulting in severe discomfort.

My invention is directed to a simplified denture support comprising essentially two cooperatrelates to dentures and been utilized ingelements on each side of the denture, one of compactness of the stud makes it preferable that the stud be the element which is permanently secured in the mouth. Essentially,'the stud which comprises a small shank and a node on the end of the shank is secured into orto the/surface of the vital tooth which is directed toward the gap and thus provides the element on which the denture may be secured or suspended. V v

The stud maybe secured to acrown which is fittedover thevital tooth or to a plate which is secured to the surface of the vital tooth, or the shank thereof may be embedded by any of various means wellknown in the art in aslotexcised from the vital tooth= .Thus, the dentist-to prepare thevital-teeth on each side of the gap ftor the introduction of; the removable denture needmerely treat thesurface of the vital tooth or. otherwise prepare it' for the positioning of the simp1e crown carrying-the stud.

7 Application February 7, lsta serial N0. arse 1 Claim. r01. ea- 5);

2 r The denturemay then .be prepared with the appropriate slots engaging the studs on opposite sides.- The slottedelements preferably are a force fit over the studs so that they will remain in position either in the lower or upper portion of the mouth as the case may be; but the den ture maybe so arranged that it need not press tightly on the gums immediately below, most of the load being taken by the studs on the vital teeth on opposite sides of thegap until, the mouth becomes accustomed to the denture, whereupon the denture may then be readily adjusted so that the major portion of the load or "all of r it, as desired, is taken by the gum. This adjustment may be a progressive one as needed. f

The vital teeth on opposite sides of the gamma of course, supported andthemselves'reinforced bythe denture between them so that anybitingor masticating load is transferred at least in part from the vital teeth should the load occur .on the vital teeth across the denture and distributed therethrougha t e a The primary object of my invention, therefore.

is the provision of, a novel removable 'denture structure. 1 e I e v v Another object of my invention is the provision of novel means for supporting the denture in position.

Another object of my invention isthe. provision of a denture support arranged so that the vital teeth carry stud elements and; the removable denture is provided with opposite sl t element's registering with and matching the; studs; 1

, Another object of my invention. is the fpro vision of novel means for forming the studs"- Another object of myinvention is the provi: sion. of novel adjustable slotted elements operating with the studs... Another object of my invention is the provision of novel means 'for'pr'edetermining theangular position of the denture with-respect to the studs and hence with respect to'thevital teethand'the remainder of the mouth. Another object of my invention is the provision of simplified means for temporarily or even permanently securing the dentureinplace in the event that any of the-denture supporting ele ments is broken. a V .Another object of my invention is the provision of denturesupport elements .in which the elements located in the mouth and on the denture are readily replaceable individually and in which the single support member or members placed in the mouth may be utilized with various dentures as the occasion may require;

for covention will become apparent in the following de scription and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a partially expanded view in perspective showing the arrangement of my. novel denture and its relation to thaperma tt tg inthe mouth. a. c

Figure 2 is a view in perspective of one form;

which my novel slotted element may take. Figure 3,.is. a view in perspective .of one, form whi h my novel stud element may tak J .;Eigure. 41 is.a.cross-sectional view show n m norebd nture of: lifieur'e 1 in pqsitionlbetween th vita te thv a A Eigure Sisa top plan View shqwing my, novel dent ra upn i ion. w v Eisurs 6- s across-sectional view showing. a sl ghtly: mod fied form;- of. t e no l denturecon: structiQn-or' Eigure 4.] p 1 jvri'igur esfl and-dare views in p erspe ctive partly br ken. away showing theinte look ng of t e tw l ments'ormrd nture ffi'gure ais aview invperspeetivv-e oi a wire utili'ze'd in placevofthe claspmsmbsb I, my removablerdentu i l r l .Whi1e my, invention is primari y c ed to a removablerids work,the simp ity o strucion andithe p mane ce f he. a hm t. is su hi ha itm y a r adily beu dinperm nent brid ewor aslwell,

Referring first to Figures 1, 2, and 3,1 havehere shown, a removable; denture hav n the artificial, teeth 31'. and 32 and the gum simulating rest 33 arranged to be placed over they natural gum 3.4 inthe. mouthbetween the vital or'permahntteethtiiifi r r The surfaces of the teeth 35, 36 facing the gap 34am providedwiththe studs. 40, eachrcomprising the; shank 41 and, the nodevor button 42. llnrEigurela the, button izand it shank 41- are shown-mountedron, a plate; 43; which may be secured .to. vthe. vital toqth or a, crown or an inlay l filfeof or, which. ma e. a part. of a cro n. or inlay as hereinafter. described.

-. The elidsof therdentursfifl w ichabut the faces of, tee h 3.5 and 3.5; whichiface the gap 34 are provided with the dog or, clasp members 45 of 4 the legs 49 and on opposite sides of the slot 48 are positioned over the shank 4! between the button and the surface of the tooth so that these legs are captured therebetween, and the button 42 is in turn captured between leg 41 of the dog or clasp 45 and its supporting leg 46.

Both the button 42 and the supporting clasp or dog 45 may be made of suitable material, such as stainless steel, and the legs 49 and 50 on opposite sides of the; slot 48 may bemade adjustable within a limited range to create appropriate tension for ensuring the accurate and permanent positioning of the removable bridge.

Thus, the legs 49 and 511 may be pinched together slightly or the main legs 41, 46 may be moved toward-or away from each other to create leg}? provided with the sl0t48 dfifil n ihturn the subsidiary legs and 5,0. 7 A

t The supporting leg 450i the dog or clasp member is provided with a horizontal extension 52 which in turnprovides for interengagementand support of the dogor clasp element with the removable-denture.

The bridge 30 comprising the teeth 3! and32 is formed of any suitable material, such as acrylic material: or the like, having a natural finish corresponding to the appearance Qf' the remaining teeth in the mouth. The dog or clasp members 45 and their rearward extensions 52 are secured in the teeth 3 32 Y When the bridge moved into the as 34,

and vary this tension.

and also at the time of insertion theret' fv intothe sleeve. 5 a rop pqratsdi. a

After the adius msntl smada he application iheatgto; the. dos or clasp 45' at a h. and will by nn us ion into the l eve. .5 m tthe. so der and ake. thisadiustment. a. permanentvone,

T39, 9 1 g; 5' s. as shownr'in E u es 4. and mounted naireeessnfil oi the r movable denture so. tha when. the remo able denture is mpo t n ssh wn in F ures: 1,, 6,.and sp cially Figure all of. thesuppor ine strusture is mp e ely c ns aledi and, he teeth. i cludin the removable denture, presenta smooth natural ppeara ce on the distal, the proximalside and the biting surface. i

The presence of the denture can only be d t cted. f; t e user actually. removes. the,v same r m s mouth y InhFisi ei 3 I have shown a r d, 52 extendin fro ap oximate y ther ddle of the supporting le f t e dos or. clasp ralongapproximate1 a center axial line of the denture 3.0.4" This sup,- p tin msmbermay e rran edinvar ous. posions difie nt structures and as shown; in

of? older. may also be ind Fi ure 6 the ssve 5r5.. a d the. sup or in s paring the denture itself is greatly reduced;

thereby reducing the complexity and the expense of the bridgework;

The simplicity of tfie unitsfthe smooth sur faces, and the absolute reductionpf the number of elements; curves; 'angles and" recesses promotes cleanlines by providing fewer recesses in which food; particles maybecaught and-retained I, "j

The 'method 'of attaching the button i io,,tlfle vital or permanent-tootl'rmay follow any of the standard procedures for attaching other elements to a tooth.

Thus, the button may be attached to or be made part of a crown or an inlay. It may be mounted on a plate and the plate inlaid or otherwise secured to the vital or permanent tooth.

In Figure 4 the vital or permanent teeth on either side of the gap have been shown as the prepared teeth 35a and 36a carrying a finished plastic crown 10, H reinforced by a pulverized core or shell 72, 13. The pulverized core or shell has been soldered at 15, 76 to the plate or frock 43 of the button 42.

In Figure 6 the button 42 is shown soldered directly to a cap 80 or 8| on the prepared teeth 35b, 36b.

In the constructions thus far shown the denture is so arranged that it may rock slightly with respect to the other teeth during use. This rocking action within reasonable limits simplifies the accurate adjustment of the bridge in the mouth and also provides a resilience to the bridge comparable to the slight resilience or flexibility of the permanent teeth in the mouth.

In Figure 9 I have shown a variation [45 of my clasp or dog for interengagement with my novel stud 42, the said variation comprising a wire having two parallel elements I46 and I4! bent into a parallel loop as shown and twisted or connected at 32 into a supporting element which may be inserted in or carried in the removable denture.

As shown in Figure 9 this wire may be readily utilized to receive in engagement button 42 with the shank 4| resting against the top section I50 which connects elements I47 and I45 of the wire.

The various clasp elements shown herein should as previously pointed out be slightly fiexible and preferably even resilient so that minor adjustments thereof can be made. They should also be inert in the mouth so that they will not combine with the mouth acids to corrode or form corrosion products.

Thus, a preferable composition for the various clasp or dog members here shown as well as for the clasp member is a bendable alloy preferably consisting of 50% 24 K gold, 40% silver, and 10% copper.

This composition produces a denture structure which is rich yellow in color. To whiten the 6. composition, from 1% to 13% of exzili'uni may be fused thereto depending on the color desired. To strengthen the composition, from 1% to 13% of platinum may be added. The metal thus produced is castable, does not tarnish and fuses with other metals as needed.

In the foregoing, I have described my invention solely in connection with specific illustrative embodiments thereof. Since many modifications and variations of my invention will now be obvious to those skilled in the art, I prefer to be bound not by the specific disclosures herein contained but only by the appended claim.

I claim:

Denture retaining means for interengaging a removable denture element with a permanent dental element comprising a stud said stud having a shank member secured to one element at one end thereof and. a button on the opposite end of the shank carried by the permanent element and a slotted clasp carried by the removable denture and releasably engageable with said shank and button of the stud; said slotted clasp comprising a wire bent to define a slot and additionally bent to define an extension engaged by said removable denture and additionally bent to form a semi-circle section to rest on the button of said stud.

JAMES PATRICK DILLON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 67,448 Payne Aug. 6, 1867 1,299,364 Lokey Apr. 1, 1919 1,315,085 Brown Sept. 2, 1919 1,417,879 Aperer May 30, 1922 1,485,306 Stark Feb. 26, 1924 1,526,129 Fortunati Feb. 10, 1925 1,641,626 Eisenstein Sept. 6, 1927 2,386,124 Laskin Oct. 2, 1945 OTHER REFERENCES Uncompromising Gold for Prosthetic Dentistry, S. S. White Dental Mfg. 00., page 1 (recd Sept. 8, 1924). 

